Satisfy the sudden demand for communication after one week by renting a Wi-Fi router-Municipal communication online

Efforts of Kanagawa Prefecture

Maintenance of communication environment

Sufficient Wi-Fi router rental for the sudden demand for communication after one week

Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education, Education Bureau, Guidance Department, High School Education Division, High School Education Planning Office, High School Education Planning Group Chief Director Hiroyuki Inui [Provided] AIR-U Co., Ltd. *The following is an excerpt from Municipal Communication No. 35 (Vol.35, January 2022 issue), and the article is at the time of the interview.

Since last year, when the corona crisis hit, many local governments have suddenly decided to implement remote classes at schools under their jurisdiction. In some cases, there was an urgent need to improve the communication environment in the homes of children and students. Under such circumstances, a prefectural high school in Kanagawa Prefecture rented a Wi-Fi router to speedily establish a communication environment. We asked Mr. Inui of the prefectural board of education about the details of the initiative.

Click here for a summary of the services introduced in this article [Kanagawa Prefecture] Population: 9,239,502 (as of October 1, 2021) Number of households: 4,262,494 (October 1, 2021) ■Budget size: 4,245,247,000,000 yen (at the beginning of 2021) ■Area: 2,416.11km² Kanagawa Prefecture, which has become an important region in terms of population, has continued to grow in population along with its economic development even after the war, and in 2006 it surpassed Osaka Prefecture to become the second largest prefecture in terms of population. The prefecture's comprehensive plan "Kanagawa Grand Design" is working on various policies based on the SDGs in order to prepare for the future super-aging society and declining population. Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education Education Bureau High School Education Division High School Education Planning Office High School Education Planning Group Chief Director Hiroyuki Inui What kind of coronavirus measures did you take in your high school classes?

　When the first state of emergency was declared in April last year, we continued to study online at prefectural high schools and secondary schools. At the same time, I bought a Wi-Fi router and a SIM card with the supplementary budget that was put together as an emergency measure. We lent Wi-Fi routers through the school to students who do not have a network environment at home, and established a communication environment that allows remote classes to be taken at all student homes. However, when the decision was made to resume online learning this September, some schools were expected to run out of routers.

- Why is that?

　Last year, a major telecommunications carrier offered a plan to free additional data capacity for young people, but that plan was not offered this year. As a result, the number of routers lent to students has increased more than expected.

　It was about a week before the online learning was decided to be implemented again. Therefore, the issue was how to procure the equipment quickly.

- How did you respond?

　I consulted with AIR-U, which has a track record of doing business with this prefecture. At that time, I learned that I could rent a "cloud Wi-Fi router*1". It was difficult to predict the number of units needed and the period of use, so we were grateful for the rental proposal that allowed us to keep costs down and set the rental period flexibly. Each school contacted AIR-U directly for details on the number of units and period of use, and took the method of contracting individually. We have received feedback from schools that they were able to quickly provide a communication environment to many students because the delivery time was short and they were able to use it immediately.

　In addition, there were voices from the site that highly evaluated the usability of the cloud Wi-Fi router.

Automatically connects to a communication line just by pressing the power button

-What points were evaluated?

　The point is that "APN*2 settings" are not required to connect the terminal to the Internet. Simply by pressing the power button, you will be automatically connected to the line of the communication carrier that is the easiest to connect to. Even in areas where it is difficult to connect with some telecommunications carriers, it is possible to use the Internet smoothly, so it is also evaluated from the perspective of creating an equal educational environment.

-Please tell us about your future utilization policy.

Fortunately, the online learning that started in September ended earlier than expected, but it is possible that students will not be able to go to school due to infectious diseases or disasters in the future. In the unlikely event that such a situation occurs, we will respond to the maintenance of the communication environment by making a rental contract an important option.

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Perspective of supporting companies

In cases where it is difficult to predict needs, rental is an effective option

AIR-U Co., Ltd. Director Sales Division Manager Takahiko Isobe [Provided] AIR-U Co., Ltd. AIR-U Co., Ltd. Director Sales Division Manager Takahiko Isobe Takahiko Isobe

- Please tell us about the state of the communication environment in public schools.

　The improvement of the communication environment in the school has settled down, but since last year when the corona disaster was hit, the need to improve the communication environment at home of children and students has increased rapidly. Most of this is due to the implementation of distance learning as a countermeasure against infectious diseases, and in order to meet temporary communication demand, when procuring communication equipment, rental contracts with flexible contract periods are attracting attention.

-What are the points when choosing a rental service?

　In cases where it is difficult to predict needs such as the number of devices required and the period of use, it is best to choose a business operator that can flexibly design plans. For example, as a telecommunications equipment wholesaler, we can independently design a wide range of plans to meet the needs of local governments. For cloud Wi-Fi routers, we can provide capacity limits from 1 GB to 100 GB per month, and a minimum contract period of 1 month. We also have ample inventory, so we are able to respond with a short delivery time of 2 to 3 days. In addition, each municipality has a different contract method for procurement depending on their ordinances, but we can propose an appropriate plan according to these individual circumstances.

-Please tell us about your future support policy for local governments.

　I would like to solve a wide range of issues related to the communication environment of local governments. We also handle tablet terminals equipped with cloud SIMs and prepaid SIMs. If your local government is interested in purchasing or renting these products, please feel free to contact us.

Profile of Takahiko Isobe Born in 1986 in Kagoshima Prefecture. After graduating from Takushoku University in 2009, he joined USEN Co., Ltd. After that, he joined AIR-U Co., Ltd. in 2017 after working at U-NEXT Co., Ltd. Incumbent since 2021. Oversees the sales department. AIR-U Co., Ltd.< /tr>

Establishment	January 2017
Capital	30 million yen
Number of employees	11 (as of November 1, 2021)
Business description	Recruitment of communication line subscribers based on the Telecommunications Business Act and agency business related to sales promotion of usage rights, etc.
URL	https://air-u.jp/
Contact phone number	03-6277- 6692 (weekdays 10:00-19:00)
Contact email address	air-all@air-u.jp

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*1: *Cloud Wi-Fi router: A Wi-Fi router with a built-in SIM card that can use multiple lines, called a "cloud SIM"

*2: *APN: Abbreviation for Access Point Name. An identifier that specifies a connection destination required for data communication on a mobile phone network